rememberance
by by-the-sacred-traveler
Summary: A troubled warlock loses most of her team in the vault of glass, and in her grief he holes herself up on Venus; hoping to find a way to get them back. She may have stumbled onto some powerful tech that can help her get her team back, with the help of a hard-headed titan, of course.
1. Chapter 1

It has been 3 years since that…Event.

We went into the vault of glass, hoping to finish what Praedyth and Kabr's fireteam had started. We succeeded, but at a cost.

I lost most of my fireteam to the Vex time stream…I know six of us went down there, only 2 came out. Me, and my lover at the time, Vulk. But…that's all I remember. I don't remember who else I went down with, who I lost, who I should try to find…I stay here to try and remember. I went back to the tower once after that, and have holed myself up inside an abandoned building in Ishtar ever since. I vowed to stay here until I learn more about the Vex, and about their technology in hopes of finding a way to rescue them.

The vanguard tries to talk to me, tries to coax me back to the tower, but I ignore them. I have something I need to finish. I was the leader, I should have taken better care, and avoided all of this.

 **OOOO**

I sit at my desk, taking in the storm breeze that squeezes through the boarded window. A small Vex cube sits in front of me, giving off a slight hum. What is this thing supposed to do? What use could a cube have to the murderous Vex? I feel the edges with my fingers, looking for maybe some kind of switch or button.

"Hmm, do you think the Vex could build me a better chassis? Maybe one that can teleport!"

I give my ghost an un-approving look, "interesting idea, but what's the point of that unless I teleport with you? Which, I can do myself by the way."

"Yeah but blinking is not the same, I want to teleport the Vex way! Maybe their teleportation can switch between time streams?" he wondered.

I have often thought the same thing myself. I have read all of the information the Vanguard, and Ishtar, for that matter, has to offer. It only references the Vex gates being used for time travel. In any case, I have a task in front of me; opening this damn cube.

"Remind me where we picked this up again?" I ask my ghost, who is floating around my hands, vigorously scanning.

"Just outside the vault of glass entrance. I am noticing something interesting here…Try channeling some of your light to your fingertips." So I do, a light purple glow emits from my hands.

"This is quite interesting! It is reacting to your light!" The cube begins to gently vibrate, steadily increasing in intensity, until…

"Look out!"

I throw the cube out an open window, and it falls on the ground with a _boom._ I peer down and at the landing sight. The cube is still intact, as if it never exploded at all. I toss on my helmet and robes to investigate.

What I find is quite amazing, indeed. Within the radius of the explosion, the flowers, and even insects have stopped completely, as if they are frozen.

"So…Is this what happens when light comes together with Vex tech?" my ghost asked.

"Maybe it's this particular type of tech…There is also the Vex Mythoclast, remember? Last I remember, that gun doesn't freeze time." Hm, but maybe I can harness this power. Maybe…Maybe this stupid cube is what's standing in my way between reuniting with my fireteam. I pick the cube up and head back to my hole. The sun is beginning to set, and my little room has a perfect view. I think I am on the verge of something here. If I can build a weapon to harness that power, this could definitely turn the tides.

 **OOOO**

I woke up early, really early. What time is it? The sun has not risen. By the traveler, I haven't had a full night's rest in 2 damn weeks. I stare at the cracked ceiling while I lay on my makeshift bed, where I threw a bunch of fallen cloaks on top of a couple couches pushed together that were already here.

"Ghost…" I huff.

"Yes Amos?"

"I feel like tinkering." I roll out of bed and sit at my _other_ desk, the desk for my gear. I take a look at my collection of guns; some of them I plucked from some fallen scavengers, some I ripped from the hands of the Vex. Others are ones I brought with me from the tower. I figure a vex gun would best suit a vex cube, so I pick out a Hobgoblin's line rifle and begin to dismantle it. I carefully place the pieces out on the desk, being extra sure I remember where they came from. So many pieces, but, I have noticed that the inner workings are not too much different than a rifle powered by light. It seems that the energy the Vex use flows through them in a similar way.

I briefly look out the window, and the sun has risen well into the sky. Just as I'm about to _really_ experiment, I hear boots coming up the stairs.

I grab my sidearm and point it at the door, only for Vulk to open it.

"My, my. How scary," he says sarcastically. He pretends to shiver and cower. What an ass.

"You're an ass," I say.

"Ah yes, my favorite warlock. I've missed you too, _dear_."

Vulk is a titan. And he fits all of the stereotypes, he is big, protective, and could never dream of leaving the city in danger. He is also hardheaded, and often oblivious. He may be a damn good titan but he was never good with connecting with people; he can't read their emotions. At all. He is also sarcastic at the worst of times.

"Your monthly provisions delivery, your highness," he takes off his helmet to reveal his light blue awoken skin. He has a scar on his eyebrow, no one knows how he actually got it; he tells a different story about it each time. He bows with extreme, _sarcasm_ , and his ghost transmats a giant trunk into my tiny room.

"Gee, thanks. Now I have a coffin to sleep in." I retort. He runs a hand through is black, silky hair. Vulk squeezes his bulky titan self around the trunk and makes his way over to me.

"You know, the vanguard could really use you back," he starts. But I cut him right off, "look, I know they make you ask but you already know my answer. Please send Ikora my regards."

He sighs. "So, what are you working on there?" He leans over my shoulder at the torn apart rifle. "I have found some interesting tech that I'm reworking into a weapon," I hold up the cube for him to see.

"A cube?" his ghost asks.

"A cube," mine says in return.

"Let me show you what this cube does," I pick the cube up and did the same thing I did earlier. Vulk follows me outside to see the results.

"Neat!" he says. How typical. "This is not just neat," I say, "this is revolutionary. That rifle I have torn apart is going to harness the power of this…Time freezing ability. I'm just hoping it leads me to our team…" I trail off, I really don't want to talk about it.

"I may not be good with this Vex-time stuff but I definitely could help you out with the rifle. The gunsmith has given me a tip or two on building 'em," Vulk says.

"Hm, that'd be great."


	2. Chapter 2

The gun is done. It took us a couple weeks to finish it, but today is the day I can test it. Vulk and I fashioned the line rifle (and many other gun parts) into a single fire hand cannon, in which a piece of the cube floats inside a small sample of Vex liquid. Vulk is positively beaming with pride; For someone who can't read faces he sure wears his emotions on his sleeve. We hop on our sparrows and take a ride to the nearest Vex gate, where we know there will be things to shoot.

When we get there, we dismount a bit of a distance away to keep our sparrows out of the fire fight.

"Would you like to be the first to shoot it?" I ask; he is the one who put in most of the work, after all. I smile at him and hold out the gun to him.

"Amos, you know as well as I that this was all your idea. I think you should go first." He pushes the gun back to me and smiles. "Plus, I don't want anything to happen to me just yet. Who would take care of my ghost?" his ghost looks at me and blinks.

I grunt and move in on the pack of vex unknowingly going about their patrol. I aim for the hobgoblin first, who is standing on top of a ledge. As I take aim, my back starts to sweat. _This could be really dangerous._ I take in a deep breath and pull the trigger. A powerful beam of light zips out of the barrel and hit the hobgoblin square in the stomach. The was a small _boom,_ and after the dust settled, I watched a severed Vex leg fall off the ledge.

"Holy _shit_ ," I whisper. This thing is no joke.

"My turn!" Vulk takes the gun from me and aims at the minotaur. "Lets see how this thing does against tougher targets."

He pulls the trigger and the same beam zips at the target. A small explosion hit the minotaur and blew its head off. It started to charge at us, but before it could get anywhere it froze in its place.

"It seems that the explosion will freeze the target if it does not kill them," I explain, "though, the dead vex parts did not freeze in their place. Perhaps the freeze part only works on living things?"

I slowly approach the minotaur. The circuits popping from his head hole are frozen mid-spark, and his chassis still feels warm. Could the warmth be from the explosion?

"This thing is amazing, by the traveler we must tell the vanguard about this..." Vulk looks over at me, "There is no way you can have this thing and not tell them about it."

"Yeah, that's a good point..." Before I could finish, two goblins spawned out of the gate. Without thinking, Vulk aims the gun in his hand and shoots. The small explosion from the gun must have triggered something within the gate; a big flash of light covers the area. A second later, the air around the gate is dry and electric. I feel like a balloon rubbing against carpet. I look back at the gate, and there is someone…Kneeling there? Who…

"nnngh, Kelmar….." they mumbled. Their hand was extended outward, as if they were grabbing at an invisible object. A ghost lying next to the stranger flickered and began to float around them.

"Oh my traveler, Devil-9? Is that you?" I remember! I remember Devil-9! She was…she was a part of my team that went down into the vault with me. Our trusted hunter…How could I forget…

Devil-9 flicks her head up and looks at the two guardians standing before her. "What the hell? Amos, why are we outside? We were inside the vault a minute ago…Where are the others? Where is Griffin-6? And Hana, and Kelmar?"

She dug right into my soul with that one, those must be the names of my—our, fallen teammates.

"They are not here…They did not make it," I kneel down to her and put my hand on her shoulder, "I have a lot to tell you."

I remember her now. It's all so clear. I would call her Dee for short, she was my best friend. Typical hunter style, she would often act aloof and distant, but it was only a front. She wanted someone to be close to. And that person was me. Dee was my crucible partner, we would wreak havoc and slaughter anyone in our way. Afterwards we would go to the tower bar and drink our minds away to ruin. But, in the end, when the voices would become too much, when the call for power would become too strong, she was the one who pulled me away from the edge, away from the abyss. Dee was my other half. And yet, she followed me right into her demise.

…How could I possibly forget her.

 **OOOO**

"So, I was stuck in a vex time flux for…three years?" she put her head in her hands. The sunset crept through the open window at my desk, casting a ray of Venus sunshine onto my new hand cannon. "And the only reason you found me was because you shot a vex gate with a weird-ass gun? My traveler, what a day. First I'm fighting Atheon, and within the span of a minute three years pass by. I could have been stuck forever, just like Praedyth…"

I felt a lump in my throat. "It was my fault…I should have led you better…" I felt the tears fall down my cheeks.

"Amos, you did your best, this is not your fault." Her eyes peered at me, "there is only so much one person can do." Dee took her hand and placed it on my shoulder. "I'm sure hard-head Vulk doesn't blame you either." She points to him in the corner, where he is eating from my secret stash of energy bars.

"So…you remember the rest of our team? What…were they like?" I ask. I want to know, so badly. I want to remember these people…My friends.

"I believe that is for another time, Amos. First, I think it's time you and I return to the tower."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I know this chapter s shorter but it will lead into some good shit, I promise~**

After much protest, and I mean _a lot_ of protest, I was dragged back onto Vulk's ship, and headed back to the tower.

"I am doing this in great protest," I say. I don't want them to get the wrong idea. "I won't be coming back after this."

"Uh huh, sure." Dee's ghost mumbled. I just got sassed, by a _ghost. That wasn't even mine._ Come to think of it, I'm surprised Dee's ghost even made it back to our timestream. There's so many questions I need answers to.

"Vulk, how much longer?" Dee asks.

"Hm, about 15 more minutes or so. Forewarning, it did let the vanguard know of your return, so…Don't be too grouchy, Amos."

"Me? grouchy? I'm WAY passed grouchy. I'm livid." I slumped in my chair and pouted. I have work to do. Why am I wasting time? I need to learn more about the Vex. How they move the way they do…The way this supposed 'hive mind' works, and what I can do to stop it once and for all.

Before I can get too lost in my thoughts, I see the traveler peering over the horizon. I will admit, I miss being so close to the traveler. It brings me—and I'm sure all guardians—a sense of warmth, and a sense of home. This is the only place a living dead thing can belong.

Our ship pulls into the hangar, and I see Amanda in her usual spot. And, standing next to her, I see…Ikora? Why is she in the docking bay? I have a feeling I will soon find out.

I slowly start to walk away from Vulk's ship. I don't want to be here. I want to go to my room. I don't want to talk to the vanguard. I don't want to show my face to anyone.

Dee places a hand on my shoulder, "you'll be okay, Birdie. I promise I won't leave your side."

Ikora turns and approaches me. "Amos, it's good to see you again. How has your research been going?" She asks. She is pretty casual, considering the current situation.

"It has been going well, Ikora. I've learned a lot," my palms start to sweat, "actually, that's why I'm here…"

I put a hand on the hand cannon clipped to my belt. No, here is not the place. "Though, this is something I would like to talk about in private."

 **OOOO**

"This technology is something I've never seen before. And to top it off you managed to turn it into a powerful weapon," Commander Zavala marveled at the weapon on his desk before him. He slowly picked up the hand cannon, measuring its weight in his hand. "This could give us a new angle on tackling the vex."

"This may be a new fun toy but we still don't know how it works; and more importantly, how she _made_ it work," Cayde-6 tosses a glance my way. He has a very good point, I'm not quite sure how I did it, either. "I should take it in the field for more testing…" Cayde starts to reach for my gun on the table, but Ikora snatches it away.

"I've told you many times before, Cayde. We need you here in the tower more than anything." Ikora stares him down for another solid minute, before he gives in and crosses his arms together.

"Fine," he pouted, "but I still stand by what I said."

After a few hours of discussion, we agree to leave my creation with Ikora. Until we can study it further, we have no idea how unstable it is. I also agreed to take it to the reef, for Petra's help.

"Hey…" I whisper to Vulk, "is it alright if…I stay with you tonight? I figured your spare room is a better choice than the Hunter's lounge." I looked at Dee who was already settling in for the night on the overly-used couch.

"Yes of course you can. And Dee can crash on my couch if she wants—," Vulk was cut off by a hand of a hand.

"Pass." She said flatly. "Your place is so small and suffocating that I'll get claustrophobic real quick," she covered her face with her hood, "goodnight."

We made our way down to the apartments at the base of the tower, and tucked ourselves in for the night.


End file.
